updated 09:15 am EDT, Wed September 20, 2006

Samsung Trace at T-Mobile

A third high-profile T-Mobile cellphone announcement was made today following earlier news of the BlackBerry Pearl and upcoming Dash. The cellphone carrier partnerned with Korean cellphone maker Samsung to release the latter's T519 model in the US under the more memorable name of the Trace. At exactly one third of an inch thick, the bar-shaped Trace is thinner still than the previous benchmark of the Motorola SLVR but still boasts the same features as more recent phones. A 1.3-megapixel camera, Bluetooth, and EDGE broadband support are standard. The new phone also plays AAC, MP3, and WMA music stored on microSD cards. In contrast to many other designer phone releases, however, T-Mobile is pricing the Trace well within reach of many subscribers: the cellphone ships now for $200 without a contract and is available for less through special deals.